The chief objective of the Global Report is to provide all Deloitte stakeholders with a broad and balanced picture of our network’s impact on society, our Purpose-driven business activities, and the actions that exemplify our aspiration to become the undisputed global leader in professional services.

We strive to address stakeholders’ interests and questions, while explaining our motivations, priorities, and approaches. We identify key stakeholders as those who:

Help influence Deloitte's success;

Are highly affected by what we do;

Affect the markets, regulations, and industries in which we operate; or

Affect the supply of resources that we need to serve our clients, talent, and society.

Deloitte professionals engage continuously with key stakeholders, both internal and external. In FY2015, this continuous engagement was supplemented with a structured stakeholder engagement and materiality assessment, the details of which can be found in the Basis of reporting section. The assessment surfaced material aspects for Deloitte which were classified into three categories according to their relative rankings on a materiality matrix.

In the context of this report, material aspects are those that reflect Deloitte’s significant economic, environmental, and social impacts, or substantively influence the assessments and decisions of stakeholders. Aspects can be material either within the boundaries of Deloitte, external to Deloitte, or both. They also can be geographically bound. Except as noted below, all aspects shown in the matrix are material to DTTL, the member firm network, or both. Aspects material outside the organization include client satisfaction, privacy, and data security, which are material to clients; ethics and integrity, which are material to clients and regulators; and supply chain management and human rights, which are material to suppliers. Several issues are also material to society at large, such as community engagement, public policy engagement, and greenhouse gas emissions. Water is predominantly material outside of Deloitte (water used by suppliers in producing products or services we consume) and is primarily material to society in geographic locations with water scarcity issues.

A full list of the stakeholders with whom Deloitte engages and the issues they have identified to us as being of value is available in the Stakeholder engagement summary. Our ongoing engagement helps us report on the right issues, in addition to keeping stakeholders informed of our business strategy.

A detailed description of this report's boundaries and the performance measurement methods used is available in the Basis of reporting section.

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee (“DTTL”), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as “Deloitte Global”) does not provide services to clients. Please see About Deloitte for a detailed description of DTTL and its member firms.